‒Frank Smith
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This quote by Frank Smith strongly illustrates the three things I've learned about teaching and literacy development. First, it is important to recognize that many students enter compulsory school settings with the ability to communicate with one language. Some students, such as those who speak African American Vernacular or a unique Appalachian dialect, are limited in the classroom due to their language. Limitations occur primarily because individuals, including teachers, do not have the knowledge or understanding of various languages or dialects in order to effectively communicate with one another. Although in the United States the form of language that is accepted and taught in school is Standard English, various languages and dialects should be appreciated and explored in the classroom to enhance a student's ability to learn Standard English. I've learned that languages are only limitations because people limit themselves from understanding or learning more than a single language. Because of the ability to speak multiple languages, some people empower themselves to be able to communicate meaning more effectively. K-12 school teachers throughout the country should embrace the challenges of language in their classroom and use the diverse speaking styles as an opportunity to allow students to appreciate more than just one specific language. As Standard English learners fortify their skills with the Standard English, they gain the ability to code switch. Code switching is an important ability because it allows for an effective transfer of information. I believe that this ability is also important for students to hone in order to be strong in math and science.
In the article Honoring Dialect and Increasing Student Performance in Standard English, the authors share the method of contrastive analysis, which is found to lead to the ability to code switch. The Director of Appalachian Writing Project, Amy Clark, insinuates that contrastive analysis causes students to confidently use their informal languages in the classroom because it it acknowledged. In turn, students write more. While acknowledging their informal languages, teachers now have the ability to improve the students' Standard English skills through the students' writings. By practicing this culturally responsive teaching behavior, teachers acknowledge the legitimacy of the cultural heritage as worthy content to be taught in the formal curriculum while building bridges of meaningfulness between home and school experiences.
During an Inclusive Teaching Practices class at Fairmont State University, I became aware of Ebonics and the language of African American Vernacular. As the lecture proceeded, I became aware of systematic uses of English words that had a meaning other than one that I originally recognized through my own language and dialect. Because the African American Vernacular seems wrong when compared to Standard English, I would have typically dismissed the use of this language. By including the instruction of this language in my class I was able to appreciate this language rather then condemn it as I would have done to my future students. This entire moment helped me realize that becoming a culturally responsive teacher would allow me to be a better person and teacher. Just like with the lecture including Ebonics, I too can teach content along with incorporating multicultural information, resources, and materials.
In my opinion, this also leads to the need to acknowledge text jargon used during Instant Messaging or Text Messaging or Twitter as an important culturally responsive teaching behavior. At the NASA IV&V Educational Resource Center, teams are using social media sites more and more to communicate with teachers and schools. I feel like teachers should be using these platforms in their classes and also providing students with the ability to code switch. For example, as a chemistry teacher I would be interested in promoting the use of Standard English when writing a Formal Lab Report while using text jargon and Edmodo to explain what the symbol "rxn" stands for in a college level chemistry textbook. Students would also benefit from locating chemical demonstrations or chemistry articles shared by users on Twitter. The following video demonstrates the increase in motivation and success for schools practice these techniques.
References
Epstein, P., & Herring- Harris, L. (2011). Honoring dialect and increasing student performance in standard english. Retrieved from http://www.nwp.org/cs/public/print/resource/3655
Outstanding Quote!!!!!! I want to share it in class!
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